Expert Tips On Building The Best Snack Plate You Ever Had

If you've never tried to put together a good snack plate, charcuterie platter, or "girl dinner," then you probably think it's easy. Wrong. It can be surprisingly difficult to put together a balanced plate. Some ingredients can overpower others, and some ingredients you love just flat out don't pair well with the other elements on the platter.

To help you put together your best possible snack plate, we asked Jessie-Sierra Ross, a former ballerina turned cooking and home entertaining author, TV food segment creator, and food & lifestyle blogger at Straight to the Hips, Baby for her expert guidance. She says that "convenience, balance of flavor, and easy preparation are key to a great snack plate." To create the best balance, she suggests separating your ingredients into the categories of salty, sweet, savory, and acidic. "It's all about creating layers of flavors, then upping your snack plate game with lots of textures," says Jessie-Sierra.

Meats and cheeses make the bulk of the savory category on a snack plate, and Jessie-Sierra Ross — author of "Seasons Around the Table: Effortless Entertaining with Floral Tablescapes & Seasonal Recipes" — likes to add olives, which give a hit of acidity along with saltiness. She says, "acidic marinated olives pair really well with some prewashed sweet fresh strawberries, sliced nectarines, and even sliced bell peppers." For more sweet flavors and different textures, Jessie-Sierra adds "dried fruits, toasted pecans, and maybe a few squares of dark chocolate to mix it up a bit." 

Jessie-Sierra also suggests using veggies such as Persian cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and blanched asparagus spears. Don't forget that leftovers work wonders on a snack plate, such as thinly sliced leftover steak or cold poached salmon decorated with lemon and herbs. She does caution, however, to "avoid using super saucy leftovers or highly spiced components [...] because they tend to drown out the other ingredients." If you do use flavor-packed leftovers, Jessie-Sierra's final piece of advice is to "create a balance of fresh ingredients with the more heavily seasoned items on the plate."